Use Your Teacher Voice

What teachers say to students has more power than anyone can possibly imagine. It's not always easy to remember the powerful effect of a teacher’s words when a student is defiant or rude or determined to hinder others from learning, but it is important to never forget this inherent power.

The words you use when you speak with your students and the way you express yourself are just some of the tools you have to use when creating a strong bond with them. 

There are very few rules about how you should speak to your students. The age and maturity level of your students will guide how you speak. For example, it is usually a serious offense for a teacher in an elementary classroom to tell students to shut up. In a high school classroom, this phrase is not as serious; it is merely rude. You should avoid using it, however, because there are more effective ways to ask students to stop talking.

Kind words spoken in a gentle voice make it much easier for your students to connect with you. If you say something unkind to a student, it will hurt even more than an insult from a peer because it is from someone the student should be able to count on. 

The one language mistake you should never make is to swear when you are with your students. When you do this, you cross the line of what is acceptable and what is not. If you are ever tempted to swear around your students, remember that teachers have been fired for swearing at students. If a word slips out, you should immediately apologize to your students, let them know that you are embarrassed, apologize again, and then continue with instruction. After your class is over, you should speak with a supervisor and explain your side of the situation as soon as you can and certainly, before your supervisor hears about it from an angry parent or guardian.

While swear words are clearly not something you should say around students, there are other language issues you should also pay attention to. Make sure your own words are ones that help your students and do not hurt them. Never make negative or insulting remarks about any student’s

·       Race

·       Gender

·       Religion

·       Family

·       Friends

·       Nationality

·       Clothing

·       Neighborhood

·       Body size

·       Sexual orientation

·       Disabilities

 You should also make a point of using “I” messages whenever you can. “I” messages are statements that use words such as I, we, us, or our instead of you. For example, instead of the harsh, “You’d better pay attention,” a teacher can say, “I’d like for you to pay attention now.” “You’re too noisy" becomes “We all need to be quiet so that everyone can hear,” and “You’re doing that all wrong!” can become “I think I can help you with that.” With these simple changes, the statements are no longer accusatory, harsh in tone, or insulting. The language points out a problem but does not put anyone on the defensive. “I” messages work because they state a problem without blaming the student. This, in turn, creates a focus on a solution and not on an error the child has made.

Another way to make sure to use your teacher voice effectively is to match your tone to your purpose. Teachers who do not use a serious tone when the situation warrants it can confuse students who quickly pick up on the discrepancy between the tone of voice their teacher is using and the seriousness of the moment.

You may also recall teachers in your past who had unfortunate verbal mannerisms—repeating “you know”; or clearing their throat; or using annoying filler words, such as “like.” If you suspect that you may have a potentially distracting verbal mannerism, one of the best ways to be certain is to record yourself and listen critically. You can also ask for honest feedback from colleagues or from your students.

A final way to use your teacher voice to make it a more effective teaching tool is to vary the speed at which you speak. Teachers who talk very quickly or in a slow monotone in front of the class are not tuned in to their audience. Remember that when you are in class, you should not be in the same conversational mode that you would use with your friends. Instead, use your voice to make it easy for your students to understand you.

Been There, Done That...A Bad Teacher Habit

One of the hardest bad teacher habits to break is learning not to repeat yourself when you give whole group directions. Part of the reason that it is so hard to break this habit is that we want to help students. It's simply impossible to refuse a student's request for help. Another reason is that no one has taught students to listen carefully and so repeating the directions several times may help students stay on track.

It’s one thing to clarify information or explain directions; it’s another to have to repeat yourself for students who are not in the habit of listening attentively. Don’t assume that your students are good listeners. Many have never been taught how to listen attentively. It's up to you to help students learn when and how to focus their attention when their teacher is talking to them.

To begin to break this time-consuming and frustrating habit, involve your students in the project. Tell then that you are going to help them with their listening skills and explain how that you want them to listen attentively. No talking. Eyes on you. No rustling papers. Create the procedure that you want for your students to use as they listen to you and take the time to carefully teach it to your students.

Set the stage by moving to an area of the room where all students can see and hear you. Call for attention and wait patiently. Remind students that they will be working on their listening skills and that they are to listen carefully since you do not want to waste class time by having to repeat yourself.

Practice with your students if necessary. Make it a shared endeavor and a pleasant way to work out a classroom problem together. With a bit of effort, this can become a part of the culture of your classroom, and you will find yourself not having to repeat directions or other information endlessly.

If Kids Planned the Lesson

If you were to plug “Great Lesson Plans,” into just about any search engine, all sorts of useful information for teachers immediately pops up. Instead of going online, though, how about thinking about a great lesson from a student’s viewpoint? One good way to find out what students really want is to simply ask them how they would like to learn the day’s material. Or, administer a quick survey (www.surveymonkey.com). Solicit advice via exit tickets or suggestions dropped into a suggestion box. All of these are good ways to find out what your students would like to do in class. 

               At this point in the school year, though, we probably know our students well enough to be able to predict what they would do if they were given the plan book for a day. Here are some of the essentials that many students would probably like to see included in a great lesson plan.

1. An opening exercise that allows them to chatter away while making the transition to the day’s lesson. The exercise should also be interesting while reminding them of what they already know. Something like a Round Robin exercise, for example.
2. Silly videos related to the topic are always a plus. Even better are student-made videos.
3. Games of just about any sort—low or high tech. Board games are always good no matter what. Student made board games are the best.  
4. Any game that requires players to roll dice is immediately a huge (and noisy) success.
5. The perfect student lesson plan will certainly include sharing, collaboration, or teamwork in every possible permutation.
6. Students like questions that they can answer. This sets the stage for activities where they quiz each other. They would also choose to hold competitions where they can answer as a team and not be put on the spot individually.
7. Beating the clock is always fun. So is setting a personal best goal and working towards it. Being able to work for a good short-term purpose is always a popular activity.
8. One unusual student preference is being able to shift partners during an activity or switching teams in the course of a lesson. Movement instead of remaining seated all class keeps everyone alert.
9. Music. Music. Music. Background music. Headphones. Music is always good.
10. A countdown to something is always fun. Not a frantic, frenzied race, but a countdown that focuses an activity—like an online countdown clock to an activity.
11. Students like learning something interesting or peculiar so that they have a good answer to, “What did you learn in school today?” They also like learning interesting and peculiar information just because it’s fun to think about. Weird facts are always fun to know.
12. Students enjoy an opportunity to write on something besides notebook paper. The more outrageous the surface the better.
13. If students were to design a lesson, there would be lots of gaudy coloring. Students would be writing on the board more, too.
14. If there is a lesson with a reading component, students would design it in such a way that classmates read it together—and not in that embarrassing popcorn style either. With friends or friendly teammates to share the reading load.
15. There would also be a component where students do something to help someone else. Whether it be playing an altruistic game such as Free Rice (www.freerice.com), or just helping out classmates, students like to feel that their contributions to the world matter.
16. Having several choices of meaningful and interesting activities to do in a reasonable amount of time would also be part of a kid-designed lesson plan. Having a free choice among the choices is even more interesting for some students.
17. Manipulatives, three-D graphic organizers, paper airplanes, and squishy toys are almost mandatory in student-designed lessons. Rubber bands and paper clips would also find a way to be included as well.
18. Finally, in the ideal lesson designed by students, the homework would be something that fits in with their out-of-school lives and interests and can be done simply—without fuss—and in just the right amount of time.  

50 ACTIONS THAT WILL GRAB YOUR STUDENTS’ ATTENTION

From Discipline Survival Guide for the Secondary Teacher...

 

There are countless ways to wake up and shake up your students. Prepared teachers take the time in advance of the lesson to prevent their students from being bored in class. They combine various techniques and try all sorts of bold new approaches to get their students engaged in a lesson. Don’t be afraid to try as many as it takes to get your students in the fast lane to success when their attention begins to lag.

Although there are dozens of approaches to take, the following list includes some that are designed to meet the needs of just about every teacher. Mix and match and use these to experiment with the best ways to keep your students on task.

1.Put a humorous drawing on the board or on the overhead or give your students chalk and have them draw a sketch on the board of some of the facts of the lesson. You could also ask the right-handers to use their left hands and vice versa. Asking blindfolded students to draw some of the facts from the lesson also helps focus their attention.

2.  Stage a confrontation. Have another adult come in and fake a high-stress situation that relates to the material the class is preparing to study.

3.Use Christmas tree lights or other colored bulbs to spotlight a part of the lesson.

4. Hold up a box and ask students to guess what’s in it. Items can relate to the unit being studied.

5. Do you speak French? Pig Latin? Try speaking in another language for a sentence or two.

6.  Write on the board three quotations that don’t seem to be related to one another and ask not just how they are related to each other, but to the day’s lesson as well.

7.  Use music. Play raucous music or ask your students to identify sounds from a tape. Play bits and pieces of songs for students to put together to make sense of the lesson for the day. You can even sing to your students or have them sing to you.

8. Show a film montage.

9. Move the desks around or ask students to trade places with each other.

10. Hand out blindfolds and have your students put them on. Give them objects from the lesson for them to identify without peeking.

11. Hold a visualization session where your students imagine themselves as successful people, or on a deserted island.

12. Wear a costume to class or have your students wear costumes. Even simple accessories such as ties or hats can spice up a lesson.

13. Hand pupils a notice as they come in that says, “Today will be a silent communication day. No pupil is allowed to speak. All communication must be done through writing.”

14. Create a giant puzzle from poster board and magazine pictures you’ve collected and glued to the board. Assign each student a piece of the puzzle and then have them work together as a group to solve it.

15.Whisper or pantomime the directions you want your students to follow.

16. Pretend to be a talk-show host. Have props and procedures as close to the real thing as you can.

17. Ask students to identify the pieces of a word or sentence relevant to the lesson. Write the letters or words on construction paper. Then hand out these so that students can unscramble them to recreate the relevant word or sentence.

18. Promise a treat when the day’s work is done correctly.

19. Time as many activities as you can. Students work efficiently when they work to the clock. You can also put a student in charge of timing an activity or ring a bell or buzzer when the activity is over. Another way to keep students focused through timing is to announce that a change of pace is about to happen and then begin a countdown. Timing pupils almost always causes them to focus on the activity at hand and mentally prepare for the upcoming change.

20. Videotape your students in action. Even a mundane activity is more interesting when your students are given the opportunity to “mug” for the camera.

21.Give pupils a checklist of the high points of the material they will be studying and ask them to tick off the points that are covered in your presentation.

22. When you ask students to take notes on the day’s lesson, focus their attention with a list of the key words and phrases you want them to learn.

23. Announce that you intend to make deliberate errors on the board, on a handout, or in your speech and ask your students to catch you if they can.

24. Offer extra points for the first person to answer a question or for the person who can give the best answer.

25. Play a tape recording of yourself giving information or, even better, of your students giving information.

26. Show a videotape of other pupils modeling the same work you expect yours to do.

27. Get out the colors! Even older students enjoy using paints, crayons, and colored chalk to brighten a lesson.

28. Give your students soft play clay or other gooey stuff with a specific task to accomplish with it. It’s hard to be bored and to play with something gooey at the same time.

29. Plan an imaginary field trip to the place under discussion. Your students can brainstorm all sorts of information with this activity.

30. Hand out lengths of ribbon or string and have your pupils tie them together, make shapes with the various pieces, or invent other activities that apply to the lesson.

31. Make name tags for your students. There are many different ways you can use this strategy in your classroom. Your students could role-play the names they have been given. You could place the tags on your students’ backs so that they would have to work with other students to try to figure out the roles they have been given. You can also use name tags in group activities to assign various tasks.

32. Hand out pictures of people and have your students make guesses about the people in the photographs, match them up, notice specific details, or use them in other activities.

33. Revive that old game of telephone to get your students paying attention to the facts and figures in a lesson.

34. Have your students vote to respond to questions by signals, standing, holding up signs, or other ways that appeal to their sense of fun.

35. Counting down from 10 to 1 will alert even the most mature students that they need to focus on you, and not on their classmates or daydreams.

36. Ask someone to stand to answer a question. Be sensitive when doing this, however. Ask several students to stand—not just one child you want to single out.

37. Count off your students into teams.

38. Ask everyone to stand and do a series of silly movements such as touching their left elbows with their right hands or putting both hands on their heads. This will generally shake out the cobwebs.

39. Hand your students a newspaper or magazine with words missing and ask them to supply the missing information.

40. Show a cartoon that pertains to the lesson and ask students to create a caption for it.

41. Present a slide show. Even better, ask your students to prepare a slide show about a school event, a lesson in class, their interests, etc.

42. Present prizes for the best presentation, performance, answers, etc.

43. Hold a drawing for prizes.

44. Have your students make up signs or posters about the lesson.

45. Turn the lights low to signal a change of pace.

46. Ask riddles to stimulate interest.

47. Use computers in your classroom. Even the most routine tasks are more fun and are easier when students get to use computers to do them.

48. Give your students food to sample.

49. Put a list of words on the board and ask your students to determine what they have in common. Use this to change the pace of a lesson. Adding unlikely names or words to the list will force your students to stretch their minds.

50. Take photographs of your students in action during a lesson.